The 2014 American State Litter Scorecard: USA’s Dirtiest and Cleanest Statesby Steve Spacek

Derived from Performance@ The 2014 American Society for Public Administration ConferenceMayflower Renaissance Hotel

Washington, District of ColumbiaMonday, March 17, 20014

Copyright 2014, S. Spacek Public Service Consulting. NO COMMERCIAL USE. This is Public Record.

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The HUMAN behavior of littering and dumping is found frequently on or near transportation paths (roads, sidewalks, bus/train stops and stations), creating DANGER to public safety and health.

Littering and dumping BREEDS Diseases and Pests. Littering and dumping is ILLEGAL—a crime anywhere inside ALL 50 American States.

 800+ Americans DIE EACH YEAR! in vehicle collisions with un-removed roadway debris.

New Mexico is now the “highest chance” state TO DIE, while California, America’s biggest peopled state, has the most Total Deaths from those crashes

(78+ KILLED IN CALIFORNIA in a recent 12 month period). 

Since 2008 ( and every three years thereafter), The American State Litter Scorecard approximates a state’s overall public spaces and environmental quality condition through tried-and-true,

hard-to-obtain measures, resulting in a Score total for each and every state. The ten highest scoring states are regarded as the top cleanest, BEST states;

the ten with the lowest scores are considered as bottom dirtiest, WORST states.

Policy makers, public administrators and citizens are ever more involved in wanting “Green” outcomes.Adequate public spaces waste removals are MANDATED BY LAW in all 50 states!

Figure 1: Conditions Status Map---BEST, WORST States--The 2014 American State Litter Scorecard

COPYRIGHT 2014, Steve Spacek Public Service Consulting. NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE. This is Public Record.

Table 1: State Condition Results for The 2011 American State Litter Scorecard

State Status Rating 1 Washington---------------------------------------------------------------------BEST 26 Idaho AVERAGE 2 California BEST 26 Massachusetts AVERAGE2 Connecticut BEST 28 Mississippi BELOW AVERAGE4 Florida BEST 28 Ohio BELOW AVERAGE4 Maine BEST 30 Arkansas BELOW AVERAGE4 Oregon BEST 30 Virginia BELOW AVERAGE7 Vermont BEST 32 Illinois BELOW AVERAGE8 Iowa BEST 32 Kansas BELOW AVERAGE9 Maryland BEST 32 Utah BELOW AVERAGE10 Missouri BEST 35 Alabama BELOW AVERAGE11 New Jersey ABOVE AVERAGE 36 Montana BELOW AVERAGE12 Hawaii ABOVE AVERAGE 37 Alaska BELOW AVERAGE12 New York ABOVE AVERAGE 37 North Dakota BELOW AVERAGE12 Rhode Island ABOVE AVERAGE 39 Texas BELOW AVERAGE15 New Hampshire ABOVE AVERAGE 40 Oklahoma WORST15 Pennsylvania ABOVE AVERAGE 41 Michigan WORST17 Minnesota ABOVE AVERAGE 41 New Mexico WORST18 Nebraska ABOVE AVERAGE 43 Louisiana WORST19 Delaware ABOVE AVERAGE 44 South Dakota WORST19 North Carolina ABOVE AVERAGE 45 Kentucky WORST21 Colorado AVERAGE 45 Wyoming WORST 21 Tennessee AVERAGE 47 Georgia WORST21 West Virginia AVERAGE 48 Indiana WORST21 Wisconsin AVERAGE 49 Nevada WORST25 Arizona AVERAGE 50 South Carolina------------------------------------------------ WORST

COPYRIGHT 2014, Steve Spacek Public Service Consulting. NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE. This is Public Record.

Indicators Used: 2014 American State Litter Scorecard

OB1: States with Litter Taxation (2013)

OB2: States with Container Deposit Rules/Legislation (2013)

OB3: States with Comprehensive Recycling Rules/Legislation (2013)

OB4: Authorities with State Specific Litter Prevention Slogan (2014)

OB5: Per Person Overall State Environmental Expenditure (2012)

OB6: Per Person Daily Waste Disposal by State (2012)

OB7: States with Highest Chance for Debris-related Fatal Vehicle Collision (2011)

OB8: Percentage “Profiled Litterers” (Age 16-25) Per State (2012)

SU1: Environmental Stewardship of State Thoroughfares (2011)

SU2: State Licensed Drivers Knowledge of Littering and other Road Laws (2009)

SU3: Overall Corruption Risk in Public Service Activities by State Governments (2013)

COPYRIGHT 2014, Steve Spacek Public Service Consulting. NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE. This is Public Record.

Table 2: BEST, Cleanest States of 2014 American State Litter Scorecard

1 Washington BEST (top)

2 California BEST

2 Connecticut BEST

4 Florida BEST

4 Maine BEST

4 Oregon BEST

7 Vermont BEST

8 Iowa BEST

9 Maryland BEST

10 Missouri BEST   Governor Jay Inslee (pictured) RUNS #1 Washington—2 -time and Repeat Scorecard TOP Winner!

Table 3: WORST, Dirtiest States of 2014 American State Litter Scorecard

1 South Carolina WORST (bottom)

2 Nevada WORST

3 Indiana WORST

4 Georgia WORST

5 Kentucky WORST

5 Wyoming WORST

7 South Dakota WORST

8 Louisiana WORST

9 Michigan WORST

9 New Mexico WORST

10 Oklahoma WORST

Gov. Nikki Haley (pictured) RUNS #50 South Carolina, where plenty of un-removed litter awaits visitors

Illegal Littering/DumpingBreeds Diseases; KILLS

Humans, Pets, Landscapes!!Copyright 2014, S. Spacek Public Service Consulting. NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE.

Check Out!! the Am. State Litter Scorecard MONTHLY WEBSITE:

litterscorecard.bellstrike.com